Legal Question in Insurance Law in Oregon

Re: Insurance company won't pay what my cars worth!

Yes, there are a few things you can do; perhaps successfully. I presume this is a claim against your own carrier, and that it was your son's fault. In that case, if you can't settle the claim at a figure you can live with, your policy almost certainly has an arbitration provision, and typically there is very little cost involved for you. Most of the cost is to pay for your own expert, who would be an appraiser.

Before worrying about an arbitration, though, there is something else you can do: Get comparable values of similar cars. Go to cars.com, autotrader.com, and other internet sites and try to find as similar a car as possible, and print out the results. Look for the same year with similar options and mileage. You might even call the dealers, to find out what they'd ACTUALLY take for their cars, and write that down. You are entitled to the fair market value of your car - what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, as the car sat five minutes before the wreck. Comparable vehciles is the best way to figure that out. You might also check your local papers, "Nickel Ads," and the used car lots. Try the new dealers for the same brand of car -- y'might get higher values there, too. Give the insurance company several of the comparable values, and see if that doesn't substantially increase their offer. Good luck! -- Sam Hochberg